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Noshei-Khereb Lubiyim (Libyan Swordsmen)
These Libyans, armed with falcata or gladius and with thureos and metal helmet, are able to fight as heavy infantry of the line, to be placed where the battle will be won or lost for the Carthaginian cause. Description These men have spent their lives working on farmlands, either in their homeland, where they have to pay tribute to Carthage in the form of harvest, or in newly conquered lands as military settlers. Not anymore: in times of war they are forced to serve as soldiers, which they welcome, as military service offers them good opportunities. While under arms, they receive a small, but regular salary, which they can use to avoid or pay off debts or to obtain a better life. Furthermore, a higher status and benefits like a plot of land and tax exemptions are always potential rewards for these soldiers. Due to their toughness, gained through a life of austerity, servitude and hard physical labour, and their basic knowledge of the Punic tongue, these Libyans have become the backbone of the Carthaginian armies. As such, they are equipped as soldiers of the line, with a panoply based on the combination of thureos and sword, complimented by metal helmets, leather or metal protective gear and javelins. They are deployed where the fighting is expected to be the hardest and where their motivation and equipment can make the biggest difference to win the day. Historically, the Libyan tribes were subject to Carthaginian rule from the fifth century B.C. onward, when the Punic city started an important expansion in northern Africa. As a result of this development, a mixed culture emerged; one of the best types of evidence for this culture is the existence of a Liby-Punic dialect in the rural areas, that remained in use even after the Roman conquest. Among their other obligations, the Libyans had to pay a yearly tax to the Carthaginians, which consisted of part of their harvest. Additionally, during times of war, they also had to contribute with special, large tributes for the military expenditures of Carthage. Polybius clarifies that in difficult times this tribute was as much as half of their harvest, which is why the Libyans rebelled against Carthage during the fourth and third centuries B.C. The Mercenary or Libyan War was the high point of these aspirations for freedom. The Carthaginian administration of the Libyan areas focused on the appropriation of the best agricultural lands close to the Punic capital, while the rest of the land was left to the Libyans, who lived mainly in small and numerous rural villages, although there were also bigger cities like Thugga and Mactar. Though Appian says the Libyans had their own assemblies, the Carthaginians set up various provinces in Africa, in which their governors were the ones to hold real authority. Several stelae (the ones from El Hofra and Cirta) and a few written sources (Polybius and Livy) depict the use of the gladius hispaniensis, Montefortino helmet and the thureos by the Carthaginian armies, by either Carthaginian citizens or their Libyan subjects. These elements were adopted because of their cheap production and effectiveness, but when exactly this happened is still discussed by historians. The most popular theory is that they weren't adopted before the Second Punic War (218-201 B.C.) and that the use of these elements was a product of Gallic and Roman influences. Polybius uses the term "speirai" (unit similar to the Roman maniple) to describe Hannibal's soldiers who fought at Cannae. Some hypotheses speak of a Hannibalic innovation, in which the classic phalanx was replaced by small and mobile units of men that fought in a way similar to the Roman style of warfare. This is reinforced by the way Hannibal had his troops take up Roman equipment. Although the idea of a Punic army organized in several maniples (a way of fighting in which the combination of thureos and sword is more effective than in a large phalanx) is intriguing, we don't have enough evidence to accept this hypothesis. Hannibal developed an unique army that had little to do with the rest of Carthaginian armies in existence at the time, i.e. the ones that fought in Spain and Africa. Therefore, even if the "Hannibalic reform" was a real event and/or phenomenon, we can't apply it to all Carthaginian armies of this period. Category:Units Category:Units available only in EB2 Category:Karthadastim Category:Massylia Category:Romani